The Girl Who Can't Be Touched
by Plague's Vengeance
Summary: "Aphenphosmphobia." She tilted her head slightly with a befuddled look, "Pardon?" "Aphenphosmphobia is the fear of being touched." He replied, giving her an intent, searching look, "That's why you refuse any sort of physical contact, yes?" He pale brows furrowed, "No, I don't fear being touched. I simply don't enjoy the side effects of physical contact." "Side effects?" (Remus/OC)
1. Chapter I: Start of Term

**Disclaimer for the _WHOLE_ story: I own _nothing_ that you may recognize, which includes but is not limited to J.K. Rowling's characters, Hogwarts, etcetera. I do however own _all _original characters unless expressly stated otherwise. **

**R****ated T for mild language, mild sexual innuendos (it's a story that features several teenage boys, what do you expect?), and possible, mildly violent actions. You have been warned.**

* * *

Platform 9¾ was bustling with families of all backgrounds, bidding their children or siblings goodbye. Some farewells were tearful, with wailing and sobbing mothers clinging to their embarrassed children while fathers stood by somewhat awkwardly but no less teary-eyed. Other farewells were cool and impersonal, with both parents standing impassively in front of their equally aloof children, as if they were conducting a business meeting instead of preparing to say goodbye to their children for several months. And then there were some children who moved about or stood on the platform alone, with neither parents nor siblings there to wish them goodbye.

In the midst of the chaos on the train platform was one such child; a tall, waifish girl with pale skin, white-blonde hair and intense blue-green eyes that flickered with nervous energy. Izora Hallowell shifted her weight from foot-to-foot restlessly, her gloved hands shaking slightly while thin fingers tapped and twitched agitatedly against her thighs as she looked around the platform for a familiar face. She pursed her lips and wrapped her arms protectively over her stomach, her thin shoulders slumping slightly as she shuffled her feet against the dirty ground.

Abruptly, another girl with dark hair shouldered past the waifish blonde, causing her to stumble forward with a barely heard gasp of surprise. She quickly caught herself on the trolley that her trunks and cat carrier had been placed on before she could fall face-first onto the unforgiving concrete of the train platform. The pale-haired waif righted herself slowly and bowed her head slightly, white-blonde hair falling into her face and hiding the intense blue-green eyes that peered out from behind the strands in frustration and trepidation.

Izora stood completely still amidst the chaos of the platform for a moment then she sighed silently and grabbed her trolley, pushing it towards the baggage car at the back of the train. She grabbed the small pet carrier and her main trunk from the trolley, leaving the rest to be magically loaded into the baggage cart as she made her way onto the large red train. She shuffled along the still mostly empty train car with her head down, peering out from behind her white-blond hair in search of an empty compartment to sit in.

* * *

Heaving a barely perceptible sigh of relief, Izora dragged her heavy trunk and pet carrier into an empty compartment and lowered them gratefully to the floor. She wiggled her sore fingers before she pulled her robes from the trunk and folded them neatly on top of it then she reached into the pocket of her peacoat and removed her pale wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa." She murmured huskily and flicked her wand, levitating her trunk and robes onto the luggage rack above the seats then she pointed her wand at the seats, "Erado Preteritus."

The seat glowed white momentarily before fading back to its original dull, checkered blue and the blonde sighed quietly again. She picked up her cat carrier and sat down next to the window, setting the carrier on the seat beside her. Izora unbuttoned her peacoat and reached inside, removing a small brown and tan marten from the depths of the coat and setting him in her lap. The marten chittered softly and nuzzled the girl's glove-covered hand before curling up into a tight ball, fluffy tail covering his nose.

Izora sighed and stroked the marten's fluffy tail gently, "We're going home, Draci."

Typically, the marten did not answer and merely continued nap peacefully on her lap, causing the waifish blonde to giggle softly to herself. The sudden and obnoxiously loud train whistle, that signaled that the train would be departing in fifteen minutes, caused the young woman to jump in surprise and clutch her chest just above her heart. Draci gave an irritated chitter at the movement before settling down again. Shaking her head at herself and the marten, the blonde waif rested her elbow on the small windowsill and stared at the families rushing to say their last goodbyes to each other as she stroked the marten's fur.

As she watched a mother fuss over her daughter, who could be no older than a first year, Izora felt a pang of heartache. She stared at the mother and daughter longingly, wishing that her own mother would have fussed over her that way when she was had first stood on platform six years ago, terrified and anxious to be starting school. Izora quickly dispelled the wistful and self-pitying thoughts with a brusque shake of her head that caused her white-blonde hair to fly every which way.

Izora huffed strand that had fallen into her eyes out of her face and unconsciously began to tap her fingers against her thighs anxious anticipation as she stared out the window. She was careful to avoid looking at the families that were being left on the platform as the Hogwarts Express began to pull away from the station.

* * *

Izora continued to stare out the window at the passing scenery, her fingers tapping against her thighs to a beat that only she could hear. Her thoughts drifted idly, as they were want to do when she had nothing to occupy her attention. Memories came to her unbidden and her eyes glazed over, no longer seeing the blurred scenery outside the fast moving train.

_'A thin, pale girl stood in front of a tall, ornate wooden cabinet and peered through the glass doors at the array of curious objects on the shelves with awe and curiosity. Eight years old and far more curious than her mother thought she ought to be at that age, the young girl grasped the ornate brass knobs and opened the cabinet doors carefully. She stood on the tips of her toes and reached for the very curious looking black urn that rested unassumingly on one of the upper shelves. She strained and gave a little hop to extend her limited reach, but when her long fingers lightly grazed the bottom of the urn, her whole body stiffened as pain, sharp and biting, coursed through her small form. _

_A piercing scream erupted from the young girl's throat and she collapsed to her knees, clutching at her head and pulling on her white-blonde hair as her mind was assaulted with image after horrible image. So lost in her agony, the girl didn't even notice the urn crashing to the ground and shattering beside her, a few shards cutting her legs, but she hardly registered the minor pain. _

_"Izora Hallowell! What do you think you are doing?!" A tall, regal woman screamed as she rushed into the room and saw her daughter curled up on the floor, whimpering and clawing at her scalp._

_The woman's expression became furious and her mouth opened to scream at her daughter...'_

Izora jumped in surprise when the compartment door was suddenly thrown open with a crash, forcefully jerking her out of her own head and back into the real world. Her head swiveled around to stare at the open compartment door in surprise and a little hope, that quickly turned to dismay when she saw who was about to invade her space.

"I'm telling you, Padfoot, this year Ev-Oh..." A loud, masculine voice stopped midsentence and the boy it belonged to stared dumbly at Izora from behind round spectacles.

"What was that, Prongs? I didn't-." Another masculine voice, this one deeper and more sultry than the first faltered then the boy who had spoken smiled charmingly, "Why hello there."

Izora shifted in her seat and tilted her head down slightly, pale white-blonde strands of hair falling into her face as she stared at the two boys standing in the doorway of the compartment with trepidation, while the two boys stared at her with undisguised curiosity and interest.

"Why in Merlin's pants are you two just standing in the bloody doorway?"

The raspy, husky voice started Izora from her staring contest with the two dark-haired boys and she straightened unconsciously in her seat, blue-green eyes shifting to stare at a point over the boys' shoulders.

"There's a girl in our compartment, Moony." The bespectacled boy replied, sounding equal parts flabbergasted and amused as he stared unabashedly at the blonde girl.

Izora flinched, her gloved hands unconsciously curling into fists on her lap when the second boy with the stormy gray eyes let out a barking laugh before shoving the bespectacled boy into the compartment. She watched without amusement as the second dark-haired boy sauntered after his friend, who had turned around to glare at him mutinously while two more boys came into the suddenly cramped space.

Pressing her lips into a thin line in an effort to keep from openly scowling at the four boys for interrupting her solitude, she bowed her head and studied them with mild annoyance from behind the safety of her long hair as they situated themselves on the bench seat across from her.

The bespectacled boy was neither the tallest nor the shortest of the foursome and had a lean, muscular build that was clearly meant for speed and agility instead of brute strength. His eyes, mostly hidden behind his round spectacles and the crazy mess of black hair, were a bright hazel full of mischief and confidence. The second dark-haired boy, while only slightly shorter than the first boy, was broader and more muscular than his bespectacled counterpart, built more with strength in mind unlike his friend. Stormy gray eyes gleamed wickedly from a roguishly handsome face that was framed by shoulder length black hair that had a hint of a wave to it, completing his devil-may-care appearance that no doubt made young girls and women much older than him swoon.

Izora resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he fixed that devilishly charming smile on her after noticing her scrutiny, her lips tugging down at the corners in disgruntlement. She looked away from him and at the last two boys, one of which was sitting directly across from her while the other sat on her side of the compartment, as far from her as he could physical get without climbing the compartment wall.

This boy was obviously the shortest of the group and rather the oddball as well, with his much shorter height and slightly pudgy build. His eyes were a watery, baby blue and were set in a vaguely rodent-like face with short, curly light brown hair topping off his rather understated appearance.

The last boy she studied was the one with the rough, raspy voice and he sat directly across from her. He was easily the tallest of the four, towering over his two dark-haired friends by several inches. At first glance, he appeared almost lanky compared to the other two, but Izora could see the wiry muscles that rippled beneath his white-button up shirt with each movement he made. Her eyes flicked up to his and her breath caught as she met a pair of compassionate, but tired golden brown eyes that were staring at her from a scarred face that was far too haggard and world-weary for someone so young, though the haggardness was softened by his mop of sandy brown-blonde hair that just brushed his eyes, giving him an almost boyish charm.

Unbeknownst to her, Izora's fingers had begun to fidget and tap against her thighs with her customary nervous energy as she continued to stare into the scarred boy's golden brown eyes. The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat caused Izora to flinch and drop her eyes to her lap, peering at the roguishly handsome boy from under her lashes.

"There's no need to be so nervous, love." The boy commented with a charming smile that had the corners of her mouth pulling down in annoyance, "We're harmless really."

Izora felt the urge to snort in disbelief, but only pure self-preservation kept her from making a sound as she deftly avoid the boy's hand when he reached for her fidgeting ones. Tucking her legs beneath herself, Izora rested her gloved hands on her sleeping marten's back lightly, practically curling into herself to avoid touching any of the boys.

The boy gave her an odd look, but before he could comment on her odd behavior the scarred teen spoke up.

"Leave her alone, Padfoot." The golden brown-eyed teen stated sternly then he looked at the blonde girl with a small, compassionate smile, "I apologize for barging into your compartment so rudely and intruding, but everywhere else was full."

Izora glanced up at him briefly before returning her gaze to her hands, shrugging her bony shoulders jerkily in acceptance and understanding. An awkward silence descended on the compartment and stretched on for several moments with Izora staring determinedly at her hands and the four boys having a silent conversation over her head.

"So...Who the bloody hell are you anyway?" The bespectacled boy demanded abruptly, startling Izora before he yelped and glowered at his scarred friend, "Ow! Bloody hell, Moony, what was _that_ for?"

"For being rude, you git." The scarred teen replied chidingly, rolling his eyes in exasperation before giving Izora an apologetic look when he caught her staring at them strangely, "I apologize for him. I'm Remus Lupin. The rude git, is James Potter, next to him is Sirius Black, and beside you is Peter Pettigrew."

Izora nodded jerkily at each boy without making eye contact and mumbled something incomprehensible from behind her veil of white-blonde hair.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, sharing a bemused glance with his three friends at the odd girl sitting in front of them, "We didn't quite catch what you said."

The corners of her mouth pulled down in agitation before she spoke again, speaking just loud enough so that they could hear her husky voice.

"Izora Hallowell, tis a pleasure I suppose."

* * *

"You suppose?" James repeated in disbelief as he stared at the top of the girl's blonde head bemusement, "You don't know who we are, do you?"

"Of course she doesn't, Prongs, mate. It's obvious that she's new, so how could she possible know of the infamous Marauders?" Sirius quipped matter-of-factly as he gestured to the girl then he looked at her skeptically and tilted his head slightly, "Though she seems rather tall for first year..."

"Perhaps she's part giant, like Hagrid." Peter commented, talking as if the girl in question was not sitting one seat away from him.

"That's a brilliant theory, Wormy!" James exclaimed with an agreeing nod, causing the pudgy boy to beam with pride.

Remus rolled his eyes at his friends as they continued to talk about the girl sitting across from him as if she wasn't even in the compartment. He shifted in his seat and reached for his satchel resting on the floor by his feet when he paused, catching the annoyed expression on the girl face as she stared at his three friends with irritated blue-green eyes.

The girl, Izora Hallowell, stood up abruptly and turned her back on the boys, effectively silencing Sirius, James, and Peter as they shifted to stare at her back in surprise. The four Marauders watched quietly as she opened the pet carrier resting on the seat between her and Peter and placed a brown ball of fur inside before she straightened and reached for the trunk resting in the luggage rack above her, pulling down a set of folded black robes. Without a word or a glance at any of the boys, she slipped out of the compartment silently.

James ran a hand through his messy hair and stared at the compartment door in confusion, "Was it something we said?"

Remus sighed and covered his eyes with a hand, shaking his head slowly at his oblivious friends in exasperated amusement. He silently reminded himself to apologize to the poor girl when she returned, hoping his three friends hadn't offended the girl so badly that she decided _not_ to return. Sighing again, the scarred teen reached into his satchel and pulled out one of the books he had brought with him onto the train, flipping open to the first chapter of Quentin Trimble's _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, _listening to his friends banter back and forth with half an ear as he read.

* * *

Muttering softly to herself in agitation, Izora clutched her robes to her chest and kept her head down as she walked quickly down the narrow hallway toward the girl's lavatory near the back of the train car.

"C-conceited, arrogant, s-self absorbed, _argh_!" Izora grumbled to herself, exhaling forcefully from her nose as she slipped into the water closet and placed her folded robes on the small sink counter, "Of all the compartments and all the people on this bloody train, I get stuck with the bleedin' _Marauders_."

Still scowling fiercely to herself, the waifish blonde wrenched her peacoat from her shoulders and folded it in jerky motions before placing it next to her robes on the counter. Her turtleneck sweater joined the coat, followed by her long-sleeved shirt and trousers a few moments later until she was standing in the lavatory in just her undergarments. Izora went to grab her stockings and paused when she caught sight of herself in the small oval mirror above the sink. She stared at her reflection for several moments before sighing, her irritation at the four boys currently occupying her compartment deflating as if it had never existed.

_'My fault, not theirs. You wanted to be invisible, it's easier that way, remember?'_

Tiredness crept upon on her and Izora sighed quietly again before continuing to pull on her school uniform, adjusting her skirt then tucking her button down shirt into it. Slipping her feet back into her shoes then adjusting her gold and red striped tie, Izora removed her wand from the pocket of her peacoat and slipped it into her robe. She took a few extra minutes to carefully refold the haphazard pile of her normal clothes before leaving the washroom with the clothes clutched to her chest and her head bowed to avoid looking at any of her fellow students that passed her by.

* * *

The compartment door slid open quietly and Remus looked up from his book curiously, blinking in surprise as the blonde waif of a girl slipped inside dressed in her school robes, which were most definitely not the standard black of a first year. Beside him, Sirius and James stared with slack jaws at the red and gold crest of a lion on the right side of her chest that proudly proclaimed her to be part of the Gryffindor house. Coincidentally, the same house the four teenage boys were in as well.

"Well, I suppose that answers the question of why she's such a tall first year." James commented in astonishment as the girl retook her seat across from Remus, "She isn't a first year at all."

"But...Then why didn't she know who we were?" Peter asked hesitantly, his rodent-like face scrunched up in confusion.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but before could even get a word out, a soft, husky voice filled the suddenly silent compartment.

"I n-never said I-I didn't know who you f-four are." Izora stuttered without looking at them, focusing intently on her lap, "I-I merely express-expressed my doubt at how p-pleasurable meeting y-you could possible b-be."

"Are you sure you're in Gryffindor?" James asked with unintentional rudeness as he looked at the girl skeptically, "You seem to stutter quite a bit. Much more like a Hufflepuff if you ask me."

"It's a good thing nobody asked you then, Prongs." Remus retorted drily after smacking the back of his friend's head again, knocking his glasses askew and ignoring his indignant grumbles as he turned to look at the blonde, "Miss Hallowell, I'd like to apologize for my friends' behavior earlier. Sometimes they're not the most subtle or well-mannered lot."

Izora made a soft noise of understanding and gave a jerky nod of acceptance again, fidgeting idly with a loose thread on the sleeve of her robe, wrapping and unwrapping it around one of her gloved fingers as she looked out the window at the darkening sky.

Remus, sensing that he had been thoroughly dismissed by the girl sitting across from him, returned to his book and listened to his two closest friends quietly conspire beside him while Peter dozed against the wall near the door.

The quiet didn't last for long as both James and Sirius turned away from each to stare at the blonde girl with interested expressions.

"So...Izora, wasn't it?" Sirius questioned casually before continuing without waiting for a response, "Since you are clearly _not_ a first year, what year are you in then, love?"

Izora twitched slightly and Remus could have sworn he caught the briefest scowl flash across her pale face when he peered at her subtly from behind his book, equally as curious as his two friends but far too polite to ask when it was painfully obvious that the girl was uncomfortable with them. Unfortunately, neither James nor Sirius had the same qualms about bothering the poor girl.

The blonde waif finally sighed and shifted so she was facing them, her expression guarded as she regarded the two dark-haired young men wearily from behind her pale hair.

"Sixth."

"Really?" James asked in surprise then he grinned at her buoyantly and he gestured towards himself and his three friends animatedly, "So are we! Isn't that quite the interesting coincidence?"

"No." The blonde girl replied drily, startling a bark of laughter out of Sirius at the flat reply.

"Ah," Sirius chuckled and winked at James as he nodded at the girl, "Now I see why she's in Gryffindor. Attitude like that can only be found in our house."

He and James laughed uproariously at that and Remus smiled faintly behind his book when he heard the girl muttered something that was probably not very complimentary as the two boys continued to joke around. Their joking was abruptly cut off when the compartment door slid open once again, startling Peter from his nap so badly that he tumbled from his seat and landed at the feet of one Lily Evans.

The redhead gave the pudgy boy a miffed look before looking at Remus, completely ignoring the charming smile James was directing at her as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Remus, the Prefects meeting will be starting in ten minutes." Lily stated brusquely from her position in the doorway, "You might want to change into your robes before you arrive."

"Of course Lily." Remus replied in quiet amusement and he tucked his book back into his satchel.

"Lilyflower! How was your summer, my love?"

Lily, who had been staring at Remus impatiently and completely ignoring James, blinked in surprise when she noticed the pale blonde haired girl sitting in the corner of the compartment by the window across from her fellow Prefect.

"Oh, hello, Izora." Lily greeted the pale-haired girl politely, "I didn't know you were friends with... ahem, _them_."

"Come now, Lilyflower, we're not that-"

"Be quiet, Potter. I'm talking to Izora, not you." Lily cut him off sharply with a glower then she looked at the blonde encouragingly, "Izora?"

"H-hello, Lily." Izora responded in her quiet, husky voice without meeting the redhead's questing gaze as she fidgeted in her seat, "T-they had no w-w-where else to sit."

"Lily-"

"I said don't talk to me, Potter!" Lily snapped then sniffed daintily as she addressed Izora, "I see. Well then, would you like me to inform Galen of your whereabouts at the Prefect meeting?"

The waifish blonde shifted in her seat and shook her head slowly, "N-no, thank you, Lily."

"Yes, Izora is perfectly safe in our company, Evans." Sirius quipped with a charming smile directed at the redhead, "Isn't that right, love?"

Izora gave him a blank look before looking back out the window as if he had never spoken, much to the gray-eyed young man's chagrin. Lily _harrumphed _in disapproval, but didn't deign to comment on the devilishly handsome Marauder's statement. Remus, who had remained silent to watch the scene with quiet amusement, finally stood from his seat and slipped his satchel over his shoulder.

"Excuse me," Remus said in his calm, polite way as he walked over to the redhead after Peter had pulled himself back into his seat, "I still need to change into my robes and we really must be going if we want to make it to the meeting on time."

"Of course, Remus." Lily agreed with a small nod then she smiled slightly at Izora, who had turned to look at the two from behind her hair, "Goodbye, Izora. If you're interested in more _civil_ company, I'm in the first compartment in the second car with the rest of the girls."

The blonde pursed her lips slightly and nodded quickly before turning back to stare out the window at the passing scenery again. Lily shook her head slightly in disbelief before flouncing away from the door and down the corridor, Remus trailing behind her with a faint smile.

"Wait, Evans!" James suddenly shouted and surged to his feet, rushing out of the compartment after the redhead, "I wanted to ask you something!"

"He'll never learn, will he?"Sirius chuckled lowly to himself and shook his head then he turned and smiled charmingly at Izora, "So, Izora, is this Galen fellow Evans mentions your boyfriend?"

"Not your b-business."

The gray-eyed Marauder gave a bark of laughter at the stuttered, but sharp response he'd received. Sirius gave the girl an appreciative grin, thoroughly enjoying the snappy attitude that hid beneath the girl's stutters and the deceptively shy way she hid behind her curtain of pale hair.

Izora shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned back to the window, studiously ignoring the two Marauders that remained in her compartment. She focused her gaze on the raindrops that had begun to decorate the window, watching the drops race each other across the pane with a quiet wistfulness for her life to be as simple as a raindrop's. The blonde girl was so caught up in her daydreaming, that she did not notice when James returned or the quiet conversation that took place between him and Sirius. She especially did not notice the covert glances the two boys shot in her direction as they continued to whisper to each other while Peter returned to his nap.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hu-freaking-zzah! I've finally, _finally_ found the inspiration (not to mention the time) to begin rewriting Remus and Izora's story, _The Girl Who Can't Be Touched_! Seeing as how my writing style has evolved quite a bit since I first posted the original version, the remake is going to be quite a bit different from what you lovely readers remember or possibly even imagined. Izora's characterization has also gone through some heavy revisions, as you can see. She's shy, but sassy enough to be a Gryffindor and she's going to be a little slower to befriend our favorite Marauders in this version than in the original. Also, I'm probably going to be combining certain chapters to make them longer and hopefully flow better, but this first chapter is pretty much the same as the original as far as concept goes. The execution is slightly different, but that's about it. Anyhooties, I hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter (and the new summary, which I think is _sooooo_ much better, by the way) of the new and improved _The Girl Who Can't Be Touched_! **

**Aphenphosmphobia -** _The fear of being_ _touched_  
**Psychometry -** _A form of psychic reading in which one individual claims to obtain details about another through physical contact with themselves or their possessions_


	2. Chapter II: Start-of-Term Feast

It was still drizzling lightly when the Hogwarts Express had pulled into Hogsmeade Station and Izora had been the first one out of the compartment as soon as the train pulled to the completely stop, leaving the dumbfounded Marauders behind her. She hadn't even given them enough time to get themselves out of their seats before had bolted out the compartment door, Draci tucked safely into her robes where she'd hidden when they'd been a little less than an hour away from Hogwarts.

Now she was currently huddled under a large tree with her cloak and robes pulled tightly around her thin, shivering frame and an unhappy pout marring her face. Her blue-green eyes were flickering restlessly across the many faces of her fellow students climbing into the thestral drawn carriages that would take them to the castle, searching furiously for the familiar faces of either one of her best friends.

"Izora!"

The shout in a deep baritone voice caused the shivering blonde to jump in surprise and whirl around with her hand pressed against her chest. She stared at the broad boy running towards her through the drizzle in relief, stepping out from the pathetic shelter the tree had provided and into the burly boy's waiting arms.

"Galen, I thought you and Dmitri had gone to the castle without me." Izora exclaimed as she pulled away from the embrace to stare at him with wide blue-green eyes.

Galen Silverwood smiled softly at the pale-haired girl, a dimple appearing in his left cheek, "I'd never let that happen, you know that, Zora."

Izora smiled sheepishly at him and nodded, "I know. I-I'm sorry."

The burly teen just smiled at her again and held out his muscular arm in a very gentlemanly manner, his intimidating appearance making the gesture appear almost comical. Izora smiled crookedly back at him and daintily rested her gloved hand in the crook of his elbow, allowing him to lead her towards one of the few remaining carriages left at the station.

When the two friends reached the carriage, a tall and lanky boy jumped out, startling the blonde slightly with his abrupt appearance.

"Dmitri!" Izora gasped and swatted at him with a playful frown, "Don't do that! One of these days you're going to startle me to death!"

"Sorry, Zora. I didn't mean too." Dmitri sneered at her playfully, his black eyes dancing with affection for the blonde.

Izora _harrumphed_ and tilted her nose in the air haughtily, "Yes, and when you _do _startle me to death, you can put _'I didn't mean to startle her'_ on my tombstone. Bloody git."

The tan teen merely grinned at her unrepentantly and changed the subject, "What took you so long anyway? I was about to head off without you lot. It _is_ raining, if you hadn't noticed."

Galen rolled his eyes as he helped the blonde into the carriage before he turned and cuffed the taller boy upside the head. Dmitri mock growled at the burlier boy and lunged at him, tackling him to the muddy ground while Izora watched her two best friends in amusement from the relative safety of the carriage as they rough-housed in the mud.

"Galen, Dmitri, do hurry up, would you?" The waifish blonde called out laughingly as she watched them, "We'll miss the feast and I'm cold."

The two boys disengaged from their impromptu mud-wrestling match and hurriedly scrambled into the carriage, the thestrals promptly setting off towards the castle as soon as the two boys had situated themselves on either side of Izora.

The thin blonde scrunched up her nose at the muddy teens, "You're both covered in mud."

Dmitri smirked and shook his head, water and mud flying off his dark auburn hair and hitting the pale-haired girl, who squeaked indignantly at him.

"Dmitri!"

He smiled unremorsefully at her and Izora rolled her eyes in exasperated affection before taking her wand from her robes and flicking it first at Dmitri then Galen, cleaning the mud from their clothes with a softly murmured spell. The water unfortunately, remained as it was still raining.

"Thanks, Zora." Galen said, smiling down at the girl before he carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently tucking her into his side for warmth.

Izora sighed quietly and wrapped and arm around his waist, grateful for the warm his large body provided despite his damp silver and green robes. On her other side, Dmitri pouted slightly when he saw her cuddling up with Galen and he wrapped his arm around her thin waist, resting his wet head on her robe covered shoulder. The blonde smiled contentedly and closed her eyes, relaxing for the first time since she had arrived on the Platform 9¾ earlier that day.

* * *

The ride to the castle was quiet, the three best friends leaning against each other in a comfortable silence that was common between them. When the thestral-drawn carriage finally reached the castle, Galen and Dmitri hopped out first then they each grabbed out of Izora's gloved hands and lifted her out of the carriage as if she weighed nothing.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, the three raced up the steps and into the slightly warmer castle where they hurriedly used drying spells on each other's robes then they head towards the Great Hall, which was brightly light and full of laughter and chatter as friends caught up with each other before the Sorting began.

Izora gave her two best friends a crooked smile before shuffling towards the Gryffindor table while Dmitri went to sit with his fellow Hufflepuffs and Galen stalked quietly towards the Slytherin table.

The blonde took a seat near the end of the table, close to the doors of the Great Hall, and made sure she was taking up as little room as possible to avoid unnecessary contact with any of her fellow Gryffindors. Folding her hands in her lap, Izora observed her fellow students from behind a curtain of pale hair, more than content to people-watch until the Sorting began. Inside her robes, Draci poked his head out briefly and looked around before retreating with an annoyed chitter when he saw the food hadn't appeared yet.

"Oi , Prongs! Look who I just found!"

Izora nearly groaned at the familiar voice hollered from somewhere to her right, but instead she just bowed her head and hunched her shoulders protectively when several people turned to stare in her direction. Her lips pursed in mild annoyance when two warm bodies plopped down on either side of her, almost suffocatingly close to her.

"Why hello again, beautiful." Sirius Black quipped with a grin as he looked at the blonde with mischievous gray eyes, "You gave us quite the slip earlier on the train, you did."

"It was truly quite amazing." James added from the blonde's other side, "I've never seen a girl move as fast as a Snitch. Well, aside from Evans when I ask her out that is..."

Izora felt her eyebrow twitch and her cheeks flushed pale pink in embarrassment, "That w-was the point."

"Leave her alone, you two." Remus chided good naturedly as he sat across from Izora with Peter taking the seat on his left across from Sirius, "It's bad enough she had to spend more than five hours alone with you lot."

James and Sirius's indignant cries and protests at the barb caused Izora's lips to twitch upward slightly before her expression flattened again. The two boys protestations were silenced a few moments later when Dumbledore stood from his seat and looked at the hundreds of students with fondness.

"I know that many of you are probably quite hungry so without further adieu, the Sorting will begin!" With that, the Headmaster clapped his hands and the doors to Great Hall were thrown open with McGonagall leading the first years to the podium where the Sorting Hat rested on its stool.

_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me!_

Izora smiled slightly in amusement when the first jumped and broke out in near silent whispers of shock when the Sorting Hat broke out into song, as was customary at the start of term. She listened with half an ear as the old hat sang about the four Hogwarts founders before moving onto the aspects of the individual houses and how it would choose which house the first years belonged to, but as the song dragged on, Izora's attention began to drift elsewhere.

Tilting her head back ever so slightly, the pale-haired girl idly gazed at the ceiling, which was enchanted to appear like the sky outside the castle. But the starry sky that Izora had hoped to see was shrouded by a veil of gray clouds while a gentle drizzle fell from the ceiling, the raindrops disappearing several feet above the students' heads. Though she quite liked when the ceiling looked like the night sky, Izora decided as she observed the soft rainfall with fascination, that she also quite liked when it appeared to be raining as well, if, for no other reason, than because she got to enjoy looking at the rain falling without getting wet.

Unbeknownst to her, warm golden-brown eyes were observing her with the same curiosity and fascination that she was giving the enchanted ceiling. It was easy for Remus to see that the blonde sitting across from him was lost in her thoughts, her attention reserved for whatever daydreams had placed the hint of a smile on her lips instead of the Sorting that was currently going on around her, even though she seemed to remain aware enough to clap softly whenever a first year was Sorted into Gryffindor. The scarred teen found himself wondering just what exactly the rather enigmatic blonde was thinking to make her smile in such a peaceful manner, the corners of his own mouth twitching upward unconsciously at the almost dreamy expression on her pale face.

"Ravenclaw!"

Both Remus and Izora were started out of their musings at the Hat's rather boisterous shout, though it was only Remus who hurried to return his attention to the Sorting, fighting against a rather curious blush that threatened to grace his cheeks. A subtle snort of laughter had him turning his head to glare at Sirius and James, who were covering their mouths and snickering behind their hands at him.

Izora, completely oblivious to the scarred young man's scrutiny, and his subsequent embarrassment and teasing from James and Sirius about said scrutiny, turned her attention to the short, scrawny boy who had just jumped off the stool after the Hat had been removed from his head and was now hurrying over to the cheering Ravenclaw table with a flustered smile on his young face. The blonde smiled slightly and looked towards Dumbledore as he stood up, clapping his hands together with a beaming smile on his lips.

"To our newcomers," The Headmaster proclaimed in a strong voice that carried throughout the entire Great Hall with easy and he stretched his hands out wide in greeting, "Welcome, and to our old students, welcome back! Another year of witchcraft and wizardry awaits you, but alas, while there is a time and place for speech-making, this is not one of them! Tuck in!"

With that the possibly barmy, old Headmaster spread his arms out in a grand gesture and the empty tables were suddenly laden with plates and various types of foods.

Completely ignoring the two boys piling their plates with an almost disgusting amount of food, Izora carefully selected a piece of roasted chicken to go with the salad she'd already placed on her on her plate. Cutting the chicken into smaller piece, the blonde listened idly to the various conversations she could pick out among the general noisiness of the Great Hall.

"No wonder you're so thin, Izzy!" James suddenly exclaimed from her left, startling the blonde enough that she dropped her fork, "You eat like a bird!"

Izora cast him a sidelong glance at the nickname then she looked pointedly at the chicken breast on her plate, "It would a-appear that I am in f-fact _eating_ a b-bird not like o-one..."

The comment surprised a snort out of Sirius, who promptly chocked on the spoonful of potatoes he'd just put in his mouth and began slapping the table as he coughed harshly. James reached around Izora and pounded on his best friend's back roughly, until Sirius waved him away brusquely. The devilishly handsome Marauder reached for his goblet of pumpkin and took several gulps, before clearing his throat and giving the bemused blonde a teasingly stern look.

"Bloody hell, Little Izzy." Sirius chided mockingly, even going so far as to wave his finger at her, "Give a man some warning before you go making such lewd comments."

Izora gave him a confused look, her brow furrowing as she thought about what she'd said. Blue-green eyes widened and her pale face turned a rather interesting shade of red as a squeak of utter mortification escaped her.

"I-I didn't, I m-m-mean, I wa-wasn't..." The thin blonde stuttered furiously, much to James and Sirius's amusement, "That's not wh-what I meant, s-sir!"

"Why, I do believe we've irritated the girl, Padfoot." James quipped, grinned at Sirius over the flustered Izora's head.

"It would definitely appear that way, wouldn't it, Prongs?" Sirius replied with his own mischievous grin and he turned to look inquiringly at Remus and Peter, who had watched the exchange quietly, "What do you say, Moony? Does Little Izzy appear rather irate to you?"

Remus glanced at the blonde and winced when he caught the furious expression on her flushing face. He scowled at his two best friends and kicked them both under the table, ignoring their twin yelps and the scowls they sent his way.

"Knock it off, both of you." He ordered the two sharply, nodding subtly at the silent blonde sitting between them, "Can't you let her eat in piece."

"What? It's all in good-" James began to retort then faltered when he caught sight of Izora glaring fixedly at her plate and clutching her fork in a white-knuckled grip and his brow furrowed in mild concern, "Izzy?"

He reached out to place a large hand on her shoulder, but Izora shied away from him and bowed her head further, the thick curtain of her pale hair shielding her face from view. On her other side, Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging one shoulder when James looked at him unsurely over the pale-haired girl's head.

"We're sorry, Izzy." James apologized sheepishly when Remus pointedly cleared his throat, ducking his head slightly in an attempt to catch the girl's eye, but to no avail as she turned her head slightly, "Padfoot, I mean, Sirius and I were just having a bit of fun, you see."

"And, um, sometimes we get carried away, I suppose." Sirius added uncomfortably after Remus glared at him from across the table, "We didn't mean any harm by it, really."

The two troublemakers shared a triumphant grin and silently congratulated themselves on what they thought to be a rather spectacular apology. Izora merely gave a jerky nod of acknowledgment and remained silent, completely ignoring the bewildered looks Sirius and James exchanged over her head as she prodded at the food on her plate disinterestedly. She startled slightly when a warm, scarred hand covered her gloved one and she glanced up from her plate, her blue-green eyes meeting Remus's compassionate golden brown from behind her hair.

"They really aren't bad blokes, Miss Hallowell." The scarred young man stated softly, his hand still resting over hers, "They're just not a clever or smart as they like to think they are."

"Oi!" James and Sirius squawked with similar expressions of indignation appearing on their handsome faces, but a stern look from their levelheaded friend had them swallowing their sharp retorts and subsiding into petulant mutters and pouts.

Izora gave a weak, crooked smile and inclined her head slightly, carefully extracting her hand out from under his while attempting to hid her discomfort at the impromptu touch as she picked up her goblet of pumpkin juice. Remus, apparently sensing her unease, picked up his fork again and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

On either side of her, having apparently gotten over their outrage at Remus's snub, returned to their own food laden plates with gusto. Peter, who had been to busy devouring as much food as he could, remained oblivious to the whole scene.

* * *

Izora sighed softly in content, carefully pushing her mostly empty plate away from her and picking up her goblet of pumpkin juice. James and Sirius gave groans of contentedness from either side of her as they both leaned back slightly in their seats and patted their full stomachs.

"The food has to be the best part about coming back to Hogwarts." James commented with a yawn, "Mum never lets me eat that much at home."

Sirius groaned in agreement and Izora bit back a smile at the lazy, sleepy expression on his roguishly handsome face. Remus caught her eye from across the table and rolled his eyes at the two in good-natured exasperation and this time, Izora did smile slightly. The scarred teen smiled back at her before turning his attention to Dumbledore, who had stood up and clapped his hands to get the attention of the contentedly full and tired students.

"Now that we have all filled our bellies to our heart's content, I must once more ask for your attention for a few moments while I give out a few notices before we may retire to our beds." Dumbledore announced once the Great Hall had quieted down, "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you that all students caught wandering the halls after curfew will receive detention and that the list of banned items has been extended to some two hundred and twenty-nine, and now includes dungbombs and nose-biting teacups. The complete list can be viewed in Mr. Filch office if anyone would like to check it."

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out of forbidden to all students." Dumbledore continued and Izora eyed the four Marauders curiously at the amused glances they shared before she focused on the Headmaster again, "As is the village of Hogsmeade to all those below third year. And now it is late, and I must remind you all how important it is to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. To bed now!"

"First years to me, the Prefects will show you the way to the Gryffindor Tower."

Remus smiled slightly and stood from his seat, "Excuse me, I need to help Lily with the first years."

"See in the common room, Moony. Tell Evans I said 'hi', would you!" James called out to his best friend then he turned to address Izora only to frown when he saw the blonde was not sitting between him and Sirius any longer, "Oi, Padfoot, where'd Izzy go?"

* * *

Exhaling in relief, Izora quietly slipped out of the Great Hall with the sea of students, briefly waving to Galen when she caught sight of him with the Slytherin first years before she made her way towards the Grand Staircase. Exhaustion tugged at her and she was just about to start on what seemed to be an impossibly long journey to the Gryffindor Tower on the seventh floor, when she was abruptly spun around.

"Oh!" The waifish blonde gasped in surprise, tottering on the first step of the staircase for a moment before steadying herself on the banister.

"There you are, Izzy!"

Izora mentally groaned in exasperation as she peered up at James's beaming expression from behind her curtain of pale hair. Beside him, Sirius stood with a mischievous smirk while Peter fidgeted nervously behind them. The blonde sighed and her shoulders slumped in dejection.

"H-hello..."

"Now, Izzy, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to run away from us." Sirius commented lightly with a grin, knowing that that was exactly what she was trying to do.

The thin young woman sighed again and turned around to continue on her way upstairs, "Of c-course not, sir, w-why the id-idea that someone would w-want to get away f-from you lot is ri-ridiculous."

"Was that sarcasm?" James quipped, skipping up the few steps to walk alongside the blonde while Sirius moved to her other side with Peter trailing after them, "I couldn't tell, it was said in such a polite way. Padfoot, what do you think? Was our dear Izzy being sarcastic?"

Sirius tapped his chin thoughtfully then nodded his head in affirmation, "I do believe she was, Prongs."

"_Tsk-tsk._" James tutted, waving a finger at Izora in a chiding manner though his hazel eyes were positively brimming with mirth behind his spectacles, "Now, Miss Hallowell, is that anyway to treat your new friends?"

"Perhaps not, if t-there were new f-friends to be had." Izora replied drily, nimbly jumping over the vanishing stepping and continuing on her way.

Sirius and James stopped and shared surprised looks, before hurrying to catch up to the quickly moving blonde.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Little Izzy." Sirius scolded playfully as he and James returned to walking on either side of her.

"Really," James piped in, mockingly putting a hand over his heart, "You wound us. We thought you liked our company."

"Not by a-any stretch of the im-imagination."

The two troublemakers chortled, completely unruffled by the blonde girl's droll, stuttered replies to their teasing. Izora rolled her eyes slightly and sighed in a weary manner at the two young men that seemed determined to ruin her quiet existence at the school. At least they were apparently no longer interested in bothering her with their silly teasing, as they were now talking over her head about future pranks and plans for the school year, giving her a few precious moments to herself as they walked up the sixth floor staircase. She could hear Lily and Remus leading the first years up the stairs a few floors below and she wanted to get inside the common room before the miniature mass exodus of children arrived.

"Ah!" James exclaimed happily when they finally reached the Fat Lady's portrait that led to the Gryffindor common room, "Let's see, what did Moony say the password was again, Pads?"

"Hm..." Sirius frowned and Izora nearly began smacking her head against the wall at the perplexed expression on his handsome face, "Oh, right, _Felix Felicis_."

The Fat Lady smiled at them and swung open, James grabbed the edge of the painting and bowing lowly at the waist as he gestured inside the portrait hole.

"After you, m'lady."

Unwilling, Izora's lips turned up at the corner and she inclined her head at him gratefully before she stepped inside the warm common room with a barely heard breath of relief. Relief which promptly evaporated at the loud, excited exclamation of on James Potter

"Did you see that, Padfoot? She smiled at me! I think we're making some progress!"

"Bloody good job, mate!"

The blonde sighed in exasperation and a hint of rueful amusement before she shuffled off towards the staircase that led to the girls' dormitory, the three Marauders entering the common room and the portrait slammed shut behind them.

"Where are you going, Izzy?" James called out exuberantly from where he had sprawled out on one of the plush sofas in front of the fireplace, "Come sit with us!"

"No, thank you, sir." Izora replied politely, covering her mouth when she yawned softly, "I'm rather t-tired, perhaps a-another time."

"We'll be holding you to that, love." Sirius replied as he shifted in his armchair to wink at her.

The blonde rolled her eyes at the gray-eyed young man and called over her shoulder as she continued on her way to the girls' dormitory staircase, "Goodnight."

"Night, Izzy!" James and Sirius chorused while Peter gave a small squeak that could have been a goodnight.

She waved tiredly over her shoulder and descended the staircase to the sixth level where the sixth year Gryffindor girls made their home during their seven month stay at Hogwarts, not counting the holidays.

* * *

Yawning tiredly as she entered the sixth year dormitory, Izora carefully removed Draci from his hiding place inside her robe and placed him on her bed, which was the farthest from the door. The pine marten chittered and eagerly stood on his back legs, resting his paws on her belly and looking up at her with big, black eyes imploringly.

"Oh alright, you silly creature." Izora giggled slightly and she reached into the pocket of her robe, pulling out a piece of salmon she'd wrapped in a napkin and tucked into her pocket when no one was looking and placing it on the floor beside her bed.

Draci chittered and jumped from the bed, eagerly devouring the fish while his mistress prepared for bed. When he'd finished, he scaled the blankets back onto the bed and curled up on the pillows, watching his mistress with almost protectively as she moved about the dormitory.

Izora was just turning down the covers when her four roommates entered, talking with each other animatedly.

"Oh, hello, Izora." Lily greeted the blonde cordially with a small smile, "Going to bed already?"

"Y-yes, goodnight. " Izora replied quietly, slipping under her blankets and drawing the curtains around her bed.

The blonde listened to the other girls talk quietly with each other as they too prepared for bed.

"Did you see the Marauders sitting with Hallowell at the feast this evening?" Marlene McKinnon asked in her rather high-pitched voice, "Wasn't that just the strangest thing, you ever saw?"

"Oh, I know!" Dorcas Meadowes squeaked in eager agreement, "What interest could they possibly have in her?"

"Hush, you two." Lily said sternly and Izora could almost picture her shaking a finger at the bird-like blonde and her mousy companion, "That isn't anyway to talk about Izora. She's just a very private, quiet individual, that's nothing to gossip over. "

Izora heard Marlene _harrumphed _but no further comments were made on the subject of her undesired choice in dinner partners that evening as the girls finished preparing for bed. Smiling slightly to herself, Izora rolled onto her side and tucked a hand under her pillow, resting the other lightly on Draci's back before she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**Author's Note: Psh, who needs to combine chapters when all this new material keeps serving itself to me on a silver platter? Kidding, sort of, I'll still most likely be combing certain chapters, but so far I haven't needed to do so. Anyhooties, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have to admit, I'm loving my new characterization of Izora, she so shy and stutter, but all sarcastic and dry-humored at the same time. Also, I just want to point out that Draci's name as been shortened to just, well, _Draci_, which I recently discovers means 'Demon' in Czech, not Russian. It was a total facepalm moment. I thought about naming him Veles, after the Slavic trickster god, but Draci just seemed to fit the little critter better. Also, I hope all the canon characters were in character and that no one was OOC, or at least not _too_ OOC. Well, it would seem that I'm rambling, so I'll stop now and get on to the special thanks and mentions.**

**Special THANKS to everyone that faved and/or alerted! You guys are freaking awesome-sauce!**

**SPECIAL MENTIONS!**

**Mitylight: **Haha, I bet, the story is rather old, but I'm glad you like the improved version of Izora's character. Ah, Dmitri, yes, he and Galen are definitely still in the story, though they're probably going to be exhibiting more traits that characterize their individual houses in this version. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**PeaceLoveHopeFaithBooks: **Aw, thanks, I'm glad you like the rewrite so far! I am so happy to know that my writing has, in fact, improved and I wasn't just stroking my own ego. XD Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Warewolf-princess558750: **Hope you like the new chapter!

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape:** Thanks, I hope you like this chapter!

**Geekchic8428: **Thank you, I'm glad you liked the first chapter! I'll be trying to update semi-regularly, so hopefully there won't be such an extremely long wait between chapters. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Guest 2(point)0: **Thanks, I'm glad you think the rewrite is even more amazing than the original! I hope you like this chapter too!

**Beside Moonlight: **Thank you, I hope you like the new second chapter too!

**Molly Grace 16: **Thanks, I'm glad you liked the original and I hope to improve greatly on it with this rewrite. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3: First Day of Class I

Lily peered down curiously at the waifish form curled under a thick red duvet, the top of a white-blonde head barely visible from beneath the heavy comforter. The green-eyed Gryffindor girl sighed quietly and reached out hesitantly, gently grasping the sleeping blonde's shoulder and giving it a small but firm shake.

"Nugh..." Izora groaned and swatted irritably at whatever was shaking her halfheartedly before rolling away.

Unfortunately for the blonde, she merely succeeded in abruptly startling _herself_ awake when she rolled right off her four-poster bed and onto the hard wooden floor of the dorm.

"_Oomph_!" Izora grunted in surprise, sitting up from the tangle of blankets and peering over her bed blearily at an amused Lily.

"Good morning, Izora." Lily greeted her cheerfully with a small smile, "You best get up and dressed if you want to grab some breakfast before lessons start."

"O-oh." The blonde stuttered sheepishly, her pale cheeks turning a faint pink as she wiggled out of her tangled blankets, "Thank y-you, Lily. A-and good morning to you as well."

Lily _hmm'd_ in acknowledgement and sat down on the edge of her bed, crossing one leg primly over the other, waiting patiently as Izora dug around in her trunk for her uniform before disappearing into the washroom to change.

Inside the bathroom, Izora quickly pulled her hair back and washed her face before shedding her pajamas, folding them neatly then placing them on the sink counter. Peering into the mirror, the pale blonde took in the sleepy blue-green eyes set in a pale, delicate face and her thin, angular body. She scrunched her nose up and stuck her tongue out at her reflection then began pulling on her clean uniform.

* * *

Lily looked up from the book she'd been reading when the washroom door open and Izora slipped out quietly, pale hair hiding her face as she shuffled passed the redhead towards her bed.

Izora glanced over at the other girl briefly as she sat down on her own bed to pull on her shoes after putting her pajamas back in her trunk then she grabbed her gray gloves from the nightstand, slipping them over her slender hands. Draci chittered softly as he crawled out from under the pillows he'd taken refugee under when Izora had fallen off the bed and slunk into her lap, cuddling against her stomach with a happy chur.

The pale-haired girl smiled slightly and scratched the marten behind the ears before scooping him up, cradling him in one arm while grabbing her robe with her free hand.

"Ready?" Lily asked, closing her book and setting on her nightstand then looking at Izora expectantly.

"Um...y-yes." Izora replied quietly, letting Draci crawl onto her shoulders so she could slip into her robes.

"Marvelous." Lily stated lightly and stood from her bed, leading the way out of the dorm with Izora trailing quietly behind her.

* * *

"Izzy!"

Izora winced and sighed, her shoulders slumping dejectedly just before she was swept into a bone-crushing embrace by Gryffindor's star Beater. The blonde held herself stiffly and stared with a blank expression over Sirius's shoulder, waiting patiently to be set back on her feet.

"It's been _ages_, love." Sirius exclaimed dramatically as he set the girl down and held her at arms length by the shoulders with a charming smile, "Did you miss me?"

"No."

Before Sirius could respond, he was abruptly wrenched away from Izora and she was suddenly crushed to a muscular chest of one James Potter. Lily sniffed snootily and eyed the two boys disdainfully before slipping out of the common room with her elegant nose in the air.

"Prongs, you wanker, I saw her first!"

James stuck his tongue out at his best friend, oblivious to Lily's departure, "You were hogging her, Padfoot. Besides, she likes _me_ more."

Izora wiggled against the bespectacled young man's grasp, her face scrunch up in annoyance.

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Remus stated chidingly, coming to the blonde's rescue when he saw her expression become increasingly distressed the longer his two friends bickered, "Prongs, let her go, can't you see you're upsetting her?"

"What? I am not..." James began to protest only to trail off when he looked down and saw Izora bloodless face staring back up at him, her blue-green impossible wide with her distress, "Oh, bloody hell!"

He abruptly released her and she stumbled, Remus's hand gently grasping her covered elbow the only thing saving her from fall face first onto to the common room.

"Steady now." Remus murmured soothingly in his raspy voice, carefully grabbing Izora's other elbow when she continued to totter unstably and her gloved hands gripped his biceps, "I've got you, don't worry."

Izora peeked up at him from beneath the hair that had fallen into her face from James and Sirius's brief manhandling, her pale cheeks flushing pink at the compassionate, and slightly amused, expression on his scarred face. Unconsciously, her hands flexed against his biceps and her eyes widened when she realized she was still holding onto him, her cheeks reddening further with embarrassment as she hurriedly released him. Unfortunately for her, the move was so abrupt that she stumbled over her feet and would have fallen on her rump if Remus hadn't kept his hands on her elbows.

"I-I'm f-fine." She stuttered without looking at him, her cheeks positively on fire with mortification as she straightened and took a careful step away from him, "T-thank y-y-you."

Remus held onto her elbows for a moment more before releasing her and taking a step back, "You're welcome, Miss Izora."

"If y-you'll excuse me."

Still blushing furiously and staring at the floor with a determination that rivaled a hungry dragon faced with a sheep, Izora tried to shuffle around the three Marauders unobtrusively.

"Oh, are you heading to breakfast?" Sirius asked, visibly perking up from the sulking he had been doing after Remus had scolded him and Sirius, "We'll join you. Right, mates?"

"Wouldn't miss it." James replied with a grin, "I'm bloody starved."

Remus rolled his eyes at the his two presumptuous friends before looking at Izora with a soft expression, "Would you mind if we joined you, Miss Izora?"

"J-just Izora will do, s-sir." The blonde shuffled her feet without looking at any of them as she gave a barely perceptible shrug of her bony shoulders, "And t-that would be f-fine, I suppose."

"Marvelous!" Sirius cheered then he looped an arm through one of Izora's, causing her to jump and stumble when he began to practically drag her towards the portrait hole.

"Let's hurry up then!" James exclaimed happily, rushing to catch up with his best friend and blonde, looping his arm through Izora's free one when he reached them.

Izora weakly tried to tug her arm away from the two exuberant young men, but gave up after a few moments and submitted herself to being towed to the Great Hall against her will. She sent a furtive glance over her shoulder at Remus, but he merely shrugged and held his arms out in a gesture of helplessness as he followed after them. Mental cursing the three Marauders, Izora slumped her shoulders and sighed silently in defeat.

* * *

Izora wiggled out of Sirius and James's grasp as soon as the group entered the Great Hall and she quickly began making her way towards the Hufflepuff table, hoping to escape from the three Marauders. A warm hand grasped her wrist suddenly and pulled her to a stop, causing her to stumble slightly. She turned and glowered slightly at the gray-eyed Marauder holding her wrist, noticing James and Remus walking over to sit with Peter at the Gryffindor table.

"And where do you think you're going, love?" Sirius asked in bemusement, quirking a well-groomed brow at her.

"T-to sit with a f-friend, not that it's a-any of your business." The blonde replied with mild irritation as she tried to tug her wrist out of his grip, "Will you _please_ l-let me go?"

"Really, Izzy, at the Hufflepuff table of all places?" Sirius gave an almost condescending chuckle as he led the young woman towards the middle of the Gryffindor table, "Wouldn't you much rather sit with your new friends at your _own_ house's table?"

Izora tilted her chin up and glared indignantly at him, "I-I'll have you know, s-sir, that one of my b-best friends is in Hufflepuff."

"Ruh-eey?" James asked through a mouthful of eggs and bacon and he looked at the girl curiously, "A 'Ufflephuff?"

"I suppose that's not very surprising." Sirius commented, ushering the blonde to sit down beside his bespectacled best friend and across from Remus and Peter, "All things considered."

"Shuppose nhot." James mumbled with his mouth full, coughing slightly when Remus reached across the table and smacked him upside the head with the Daily Prophet, "Oi!"

"Don't talk with your mouthful." The scarred teen reprimanded him in an amused tone before opening the Daily Prophet to continue reading it.

Izora's upper lip curled in disgust when a piece of partial chewed egg landed only centimeters from her gloved hand that she had rested on the table. She moved her hand off the table and placed it in her lap, sitting stiffly between Sirius and James with her back ramrod straight.

"I-I think," She stuttered drily, her nose scrunching up in further disgust as Sirius began shoveling food into his mouth after piling his plate high, "That I would m-much rather sit with the H-Hufflepuffs. They at l-least have table m-manners..."

Remus sighed in exasperation at his three friends and smiled at the blonde in an apologetic manner, "I'm afraid they're not exactly housebroken yet. I've found that I haven't had the time to teach them proper manners yet."

"Now that's not very nice, Moony." James protested as he waved his fork in the air indignantly, "Right, Padfoot?"

"Right." The other teen mumbled around his mouthful, "Not nice at all."

Izora made a vaguely distressed noise when the piece of ham that had been speared on James's fork suddenly flew off and smacked into the face of the Gryffindor sitting diagonally across from him. Unaware that it had been James who had accidently hit him with the piece of food, the young woman turned to glare accusingly at the young man sitting beside her before she picked up her bowl of porridge and dumped it over his head.

"Oh bloody hell." Remus muttered, covering his eyes with a hand while Sirius and James erupted into loud laughter as porridge slid down the young fourth year boy's stunned face.

The fourth year's expression quickly morphed from surprised to angry and he grabbed a handful of eggs from the platter in front of him, tossing it at the girl who had dumped porridge on him. The girl squealed loudly and ducked, the eggs sailing over head and hitting the back of another student's head. The seventh year touched the back of his head and blinked at the mashed up eggs coating his fingers in befuddlement for a moment, before he looked at the fourth year that had thrown them. The boy quickly pointed at the girl, who gaped at him then she scowled and threw a biscuit at him indignantly.

Izora covered her mouth with her hands, blue-green eyes wide as a full-scale food fight started at the Gryffindor table. She squeaked and leaned back, tumbling off the bench in her haste to avoid the gravy that had been flying towards her head. She heard Sirius's outraged cry as the gray splattered all over the side of his face and she saw him surge to his feet as she scrambled to pull her legs of the bench. The blonde stared wide-eyed as Sirius and James joined in the food fight, that had apparently grown to include the other three houses in the few minutes Izora had spent untangling her legs from her seat.

The thin young woman stood shakily and gave a strangled cry of surprise when her front was abruptly splattered with cold cereal. She stared down at the soggy mess dripping down the front of her robes in confusion before lifting her eyes and meeting the mischievous orbs of James Potter and Sirius Black.

Irrational vexation welled up inside Izora and she grabbed two goblets of pumpkin juice from the table as she stomped towards them then she upended the goblets both over the two Marauders' heads. Sirius and James gaped at her, pumpkin juice dribbling down their handsome faces before they shared a look and turned to face her with identical looks of maniacal glee.

Realizing her mistake a little too late, Izora pivoted on her heel and smacked right into Remus's surprisingly firm chest. His strong hands locked around her biceps, keeping her from falling onto her rump when she slipped on a puddle of unidentifiable origins. The blonde squeaked and looked up at the scarred teen with huge blue-green eyes, gasping a moment later when gravy was poured over her head. Remus made a strangled sound of shock as the thick substance was spilled over his head by Sirius.

"Thanks, Moony!" James cackled as he and his partner in crime ran away from the two before either of them could react.

Remus blinked dumbly after his two friends before looking down at the faintly trembling blonde he was still holding onto. Blue-green eyes met his own, looking utterly confused and lost by the sudden turn of events. He opened his mouth to apologize when he noticed more food coming towards them from the corner of his eye and he quickly pulled the girl to his chest, stepped out of the way of the unrecognizable substance. Unfortunately for Remus, he stepped back into a puddle of cereal and lost his balance, tumbling backwards and taking Izora with him as he fell.

"Oof!" He grunted when his back hit the unforgiving stone floor, gasping slightly when thin blonde landed on top of him with small yelp, her forehead smacking against his.

"Oh!" Izora cried out as pain flared up in the center of her forehead and she quickly rolled off of Remus, clenching her eyes shut and placing a hand on her sore forehead.

Remus shook his head slightly and pushed himself up onto his elbow, using one hand to rub at the space between his eyes as he peered down at the blonde lying on her back beside him with her eyes closed.

"Are you alright?"

Izora made an unintelligible sound and flapped her other hand in his general direction without opening her eyes, her nose scrunching up slightly.

Remus was about to aks if she needed help when McGonagall's stern voice cut through the chaos the Great Hall had descended into.

"That is **_enough!_**"

The students froze in place, most lowering their arms as they slowly turned to face the staff table. Izora pushed herself up and, with Remus's help, slowly got to her feet and faced the irate teacher standing in front of the staff table with a thunderous expression.

"All of you return to your common rooms and clean yourselves up _immediately_!" The Gryffindor Head of House barked, pointing towards the open Great Hall doors.

The students mumbled quietly as they trudged from the Great Hall, many covered to varying degrees in different types of food. James and Sirius appeared at Remus and Izora's side with Peter right behind them. The two troublemakers began urging their friend and the dazed blonde towards the Great Hall entrance, glancing over their shoulders worriedly as McGonagall stalked towards them through the crowd that was still dispersing.

"Stop right there." The stern professor ordered harshly as she came up behind the two dark-haired young men.

James and Sirius winced simultaneously and turned to face the irate woman with charming, and entirely false, expressions of innocence.

"Minny! Good to see you." Sirius stated sweetly with a charming smile, "You're looking...uh, delectable today."

James made a choked noise and quickly cleared his throat when McGonagall looked at him and Sirius with an unamused expression, her normally severe bun slightly askew and peppered with bits of eggs and bacon.

"My office, all of you. _Now!_"

The two troublemakers sighed and their shoulders slumped as they chorused, "Yes, Professor."

Izora bit her lip and bowed her head, fiddling nervously with her fingers when the Head of House leveled her with a hard stare before she walked passed the five teens towards the Great Hall doors. Without looking at any of the Marauders, the blonde turned on her heel and shuffled after McGonagall, her long hair hiding her face from view.

Remus watched the thin girl walk away before he sighed and gestured at his three friends to follow him as he began to trudge towards the doors, "Come on, three. Let's get this over with."

* * *

"I am very disappointed in all of you and while I have come to expect this type of behavior from you _three_," McGonagall fixed James, Sirius, and Peter with a fierce look before she looked at Remus and Izora with a stern frown, "I expected more from a Prefect and one of my better-behaved students."

Izora bit her lip and bowed her head abashedly, fidgeting with the end of her food-stained tie nervously to avoid McGonagall's frown of disappointment. Beside her, Remus winced slightly and lowered his eyes in apparent remorse while James and Sirius fought to keep straight faces and Peter twitched nervously.

"Professor, Izzy had nothing to do with what happened." James said with some defensiveness while trying to fight down a smirk as he gestured to the girl standing between him and Remus, "She was an innocent bystander."

McGonagall gave him a look of intense disapproval, "Be that as it may, Mister Potter, she will punished along with you for the part that she _did_ play in the incident. The five of you will receive a week of detention. Ten points from Gryffindor for each of you."

"Professor-"

"Now, really Minny-"

"Enough!" The Gryffindor Head of House cut James and Sirius off sharply as she fixed them both with a steely glare, "Your week of detention will begin tonight with Mr. Filch. Now, clean yourselves up and head to your classes. You're schedules will be waiting for you in your dormitories."

McGonagall watched sternly as the five teens trudged from her office, James and Sirius grumbling quietly to themselves at the front of the group while Izora shuffled silently behind them with her head bowed.

Once the heavy wooden door had shut behind them, Professor McGonagall sat down heavily in her chair with a sigh.

"Oh, Miss Hallowell, what trouble have you brought onto yourself, dear child?"

* * *

"Well," James snickered as the group of five Gryffindors walked down the hall towards the common room, "That has to be a new record for us, eh, Padfoot?"

"I do believe you're right, Prongs." Sirius replied with smirk and he glanced over his shoulder at Remus with an amusedly inquiring expression, "What do you say, Moony? How long was it before we got detention last year?"

Remus rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation as he walked behind his two best friends with Izora quietly keeping step with him, "I believe it was around the third week of the school year."

"Yes!" James cheered with a triumphant grin before he whirled around and grasped one of Izora's gloved hands in both of his and shook his vigorously, "Thank you, Izzy, for helping us provide a marvelous start to our sixth year!"

Izora flinched in surprise and tugged her hand out of his grasp quickly, flexing her fingers slightly before crossing her arms loosely over her chest to prevent anymore surprise handshakes.

"You're w-welcome, I suppose." She mumbled without meeting his eyes, her pale hair hiding her face from view.

Remus eyed the thin young woman walking beside him while James spoke animatedly to Sirius in front of them.

"I apologize for them." He murmured softly, so only she could hear him, "They can be a bit..."

Izora peeked at him from behind her hair and smiled wryly, "Much?"

The scarred teen chuckled quietly and nodded, "I was going to say 'tactless', but 'much' works as well." Remus gave her an apologetic look, "I'm also sorry you got detention because of us."

"D-don't fret about i-it." Izora stuttered quietly with a small, dismissive wave of her hand, "I-it's not my f-first detention."

"Really?" Remus questioned, quirking a brow and giving her a sidelong look of skepticism.

The blonde beside him merely shrugged and nodded jerkily in confirmation, her fingers fidgeting with the end of her tie while her hair continued to hide her face from his view.

"I can tell that there is a story there." Remus commented lightly as he turned to stare in front of him again, so as to make her feel less uncomfortable, "I should like to hear it sometime, if you'd like to tell it."

Izora looked at him in surprise from behind her veil of pale hair, her blue-green eyes slightly wide. She quickly looked away again when he glanced at her in mild amusement, his brows slightly raised questioningly.

"U-um..." Izora stuttered, her fingers twisting restlessly together as she avoided looking directly at the young man walking beside her, "A-alright."

"Excellent." The scarred young man replied with a gentle smile before he gestured towards the portrait hole James and Sirius were holding open impatiently, "Ladies first."

Izora smiled weakly and shuffled passed him into the common room, her head bowed slightly to avoid curious and vaguely knowing looking James and Sirius were giving her and Remus.

"Oh, Izzy," Sirius called out as the blonde was walking up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, "We'll be walking you to your classes, love, so do hurry."

Izora rolled her eyes and didn't bother to respond as she walked up the stairs to the sixth year dorms to clean up and change into a new uniform.

* * *

"So, my dear Moony," Sirius drawled casually as he watched the blonde disappear up the girls' staircase before turning to look slyly at his scarred friend, "What were you and Izzy talking about back there?"

"Yes, you two seemed awfully chummy." James piped in with a grin.

Remus rolled his eyes at his two best friends before making his way towards the boys' staircase, "I was just apologizing for getting her into trouble. If not for you two, she wouldn't have a week's worth of detention."

The scarred teen left the two lead troublemakers spluttering indignantly in the common room while he made his way up to the dorm he shared with his friends. James and Sirius raced after him, still shouting protests at his back while Peter shuffled quietly after them, an unsure smile on his face.

* * *

Cleaned and in a pair of fresh robes, Izora quietly walked down to the common room with Draci curled up in an inner pocket of her robes and her class schedule in her hand. She peered around the staircase cautiously and sighed in relief when she saw it was seemingly empty of a certain group of boys. She stepped fully into the common room and was about to hurry towards the portrait hole when a deep voice that was, unfortunately becoming familiar, startled her right out of her skin.

"If I didn't now any better, I would think you were trying to sneak away." Sirius commented in amusement from where he had been lounging on the sofa in front of the fire, hidden from view, "I'm starting to think you don't like us very much, dear Izzy."

"Not exactly being subtle about it." Izora muttered drily under her breath as she let her hand drop from her chest to hang limply at her side before she addressed the roguishly handsome Marauder in a louder, if stuttery voice, "I-I wasn't sneaking, class h-has already started and I d-don't want to be l-l-later."

"_Tsk-tsk_," Sirius tutted in mock chiding as he got to his feet and walked over to the blonde, "Don't fret so much, Izzy, Moony does enough of that on his own. It's not as if the classes are going to go anywhere."

Izora rolled her eyes and slipped passed him, determined to get a head start to her second class of the day, which was Potions and was all the way down in the dungeons. Her endeavor was thwarted, however, when the rest of the Marauders trudged down the stairs.

"Ah, Izzy!" James exclaimed loudly after glancing curiously at an amused Sirius, "Trying to leave without us, were you?"

"I thought that w-was obvious..."

The thin young woman rolled her eyes and sighed again at the identical false affronted expressions that appeared on James and Sirius's faces at her comment.

"Really, Izzy, you wound us." The bespectacled teen cried out dramatically and he put a hand over his heart, affecting a suitably wounded expression on his face before he smiled mischievously at her, "So what classes do you have then?"

Sirius snatched the parchment from her hand before she could hide in her robes. Izora frowned at the two lead troublemakers as they compared her schedule to theirs, talking in hushed whispers.

Remus walked over and smiled down at her sheepishly, "I feel as if I've been doing this a lot as of late, but I really do apologize for them. It's not often they find someone to match wits with."

"W-wits are generally required t-to match t-them against a-another." Izora replied wryly as she folded her arms across her chest and exhaled through her nose in mild irritation as James and Sirius continued whispering over the schedules.

Remus smiled in amusement and inclined his head to her, "True."

Izora was kept from replying when James and Sirius finally sauntered towards her and Remus, Peter trailing behind them like a shadow.

"You're in luck, Izzy." Sirius stated with a Cheshire cat smile as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder, ignoring the way she tensed and tried to subtly pull away from him as he led her towards the portrait hole with James walking on her other side.

"We're in all of your classes, except Ancient Ruins, Arithmancy and a free period right after lunch, which you have with just Moony." James finished with his own grin as he opened the portrait hole and led the way out, "Isn't that great?"

"Delightful..."

Remus chuckled lowly at the blonde's flat, sarcastic reply as he stepped out of the portrait hole and followed the other three down the hall, Peter following him in his usual nervous, quiet manner.

* * *

**Author's Note: Merlin's left nut, I am so freaking sorry for the long ass wait. This chapter was kind of hard for me to write, but I finally wrestled it into submission and it's not too bad, if I do say so myself. Not much to really say in this author's note, other than I hope y'all liked this chapter and I'll try to post the next one soon-ish.**

**Special THANKS to everyone that faved and/or alerted! You guys freaking are awesome-sauce!**

**SPECIAL MENTIONS!**

**Pineapple loves you: **Thanks, I'm glad you like the story so far and I hope you like this chapter!

**Jessicaorr1884: **Thanks, I'm glad you like the story. Ah, Izora is still quite independent, but she does stutter a bit around people she's not exactly comfortable with. If you noticed, she didn't stutter at all when she was with Dmitri and Galen, so eventually she wont' stutter around the Marauders. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Anon Guest 1: **Thanks, I'm super happy you like the story and that you think I portray the canon characters well! Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Rea558750: **Haha, I love them too, but Remus will always be my favorite.

**Molly Grace 16: **Thanks, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Haha, I wonder that about those two myself to be honest. Then again, I don't think even they really know why they're so interested in her, at this point they just find her amusing. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Geekchic8428: **I'm glad you liked the last chapter despite the typos, which I went back and tried to fix as many as I can. I'm totally going to blame Voldemort for them...and caffeine, which is probably the real reason for them. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Anon Guest 2: **Thanks, I'm glad you like the story. Ah, yeah, I'm a huge Remus fan and, honestly, I don't think I'm creative enough to write out a story based on two OCs, I can usually do a little side romance thing with a pair of OCs, but I've never really successfully done a story that centers around that type of pairing. Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape: **Haha, I know. I hope you like this chapter!

**Wedontkilltheliving: **Can I just open this reply to your review by saying, I freaking _love_ your penname. Seriously, it's awesome. Now, back to the actual reply, I'm glad you liked the original, but I'm super-duper happy that you think the rewrite is even better! Anyhooties, I hope you like this chapter!


End file.
